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#1 ·
intro

Off and on, over the past few years I had the idea to try to do a series of projects over the course of a week or so…. like 12 Christmas ornaments in 12 days, or a bunch of pens leading up to graduation time…. I've been pretty good about getting set up to make a bunch of pens, and then not having enough free time or energy to do anything about it… or conversely, having the idea a wee bit too late, and then totally forgetting about it until it was too late again the next year. Sound familiar?

This year we're taking the homemade approach seriously, past years were good intention, but with my wife out of work since last spring, there's no flexibility. Luckily my daughter has a great imagination and my wife and I have some creative ideas… but I digress.

During the process of getting my shop in order for a bunch of homemade Christmas presents I found that I had lots of pen kits just waiting to be made into something beautiful and useful…

Then I remembered the challenge idea, and checked online for ideas, and found a website where artists, writers anyone really can sign up, link their blog, and take on a 30 projects in 30 days challenge. The main goal wasn't to fill your shelves with tons of projects, but rather to force yourself to be creative everyday. Whether or not you think you have the time, you'll force yourself to be creative everyday, and in the process, you might find yourself taking your work in a new direction, or at least develop your abilities beyond where they'd be in a year or two from now if you just casually plodded along whenever time, energy (and the pull of the accursed TV) allow.

So, I have all these pen kits in the basement, I'll make 30 pens in 30 days!... But alas I only have 26 kits, and now I'm kinda into the 30 day idea. So I'll make pens and bottle stoppers! Yeah, that's the ticket. I'll have really nice gifts for everyone, and (thanks to the pen trading swap) I can do this all for free (or rather by only using money I'd already spent.)

Ok, now I know the spirit of the idea is just to practice your craft, and build up your skills and creativity… and I'm adding in the additional challenge of coming up with 30 "gift quality" items… well, pens still are quick, and if I have to make two a day to get one good one, time-wise that should still be OK. Besides which I'll be done on Dec 1st, and will still have 3 weeks to make or repair anything else that gets put on the list. No Problem.

no. Problem. Over the past year, between Christmas, birthdays, and a slew of cousins, nieces and nephews graduating, I've already gifted quite a few pens. Sure I can give more… but I can't really give the same thing two years in a row.

If only there was a way I could sell or trade these with friends, without coming out and having to "sell them", or put them on eBay and cross my fingers. Even though I've had a couple of fine art shows about ten years back (and had moderate success with them) friends and family (except for Mom) never seem to remember that I'm available for hire for interesting and unique gifts - often (cause I'm a sap) for pretty cheap.

Then I remembered reading about a "painting a day" auction that several painters came up with a few years ago. The idea was that they would spend about an hour painting a small canvas and market it to everyone on their mailing lists 24 hours in advance of a very short eBay auction. Most paintings sold for a bit over $100 in a matter of minutes. Most sold out, being collectible one of a kind pieces, that in turn allowed these artists to earn a fairly good living, and still have time to work on larger commissions that might take months if not years to sell.

Ok, how to adapt this idea… A Ha! take advantage of the viral marketing of social networking sites like Facebook, and give my friends (real and online acquaintances) the opportunity of taking part in a semi-private auction, where they can support a friend, and up-and-coming artist, and get something nice for themselves or to gift, that they might not otherwise be able to afford at a higher end art/artisan boutique.

What a win-win. I have the opportunity to get plenty of practice at my craft (without breaking the bank or flooding myself with pens) and my friends (the real ones at least) get to keep their money local. (and I won't have to give my six-year old a pair or matching ball point pens for Christmas. But look honey, it's bubinga!)

I'll be posting the projects here, after I get the ball rolling on my Facebook page. This is a "business page" so anyone on Facebook ("friend" or not)can view it (it might even be viewable by the general public). http://www.facebook.com/pages/Wilton-NH/Blanchard-Creative-Woodworking/32878627365?ref=s

if you're one of the jocks already on Facebook, check out the page, and come along for the ride… or set up a site of your own, and join me with your own 30 day challenge! I'm starting November 1st. Who's with me?
 
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#90 ·
Make art everyday

or at least try to.

In the past I've taken a couple of stabs at turning out 30 projects in 30 days. My first attempt was the most ambitious, trying to churn out, not only a project a day for 30 days, but to make them also be a sellable one every day. In the end I created more than 30, and spent about as much time on the photographing and blogging as I did the actual work. Quite the busy month - perfect cover for my wife to catch me off guard with a surprise birthday party - one in which I sold several of said projects as Christmas presents.

Anyhow, I followed the success of that attempt, with another the following June. This time, not out to make something sellable every day for 30 days, just to make 30 projects within 30 days time. Again, the photographing and the blogging were the real time killers. This time, I had the company of 2 fellow Lumberjocks, joining me with their own 30 projects in 30 days challenge.

I know I learned loads, despite the pressure on myself. I got really good at sharpening my chisels (as most of my projects came off the lathe) as well as the photography aspect. It had been sooo many years since I'd lived in the highschool and college darkrooms.

There was to be a third attempt at 30 projects, but with moving the following November, that was not to be. Coupled with setting up a new shop, and a really cold garage shop at that, the April and June stabs were put on hold for want of getting things situated and running. Still need myself a new tablesaw. One that turns on 100% of the time, and turns off any amount of the times I throw the switch… but I digress.

This month (Yes not a 30 day month, but whatever) I'm getting back to the original spirit of the 30 projects in 30 days challenge - in where fellow artists of every stripe, painters, writers and so on - were merely challenging themselves to get out and PRACTICE their craft everyday for a month. (if you want to take a good picture, you have to burn through a roll of film.)

What with spending half a year without a working shop, I'm really itching to just get out there and do anything. I've got a notebook full of some creative ideas, but really should get back into the swing of things before attempting new and different things. I really should just get out there and make some sawdust with no agenda or end product in site, before another over the top attempt at 30 sellable projects in 30 days come Fall. Or even before attempting anything remotely planned out. Get into the groove, get a feel for things - or at least get the chisels all nice and sharp (and pick up some new toys while I'm at it) ;)

Anyhow…

with little or no plan or agenda, here are the first 3 stabs at turning out something, or nothing this month.

July 3rd - 5th

Attempt at making a 7.5 inch plate or small platter:



Salvaged Cherry board, before.



Bottom of plate, with sister board. Cleans up really nice, don't you think?



Side/top view, mounted on lathe. Need to mount this on a glue block, buy or rig up some cole jaws to trim off that middle portion… OR… I could use this as the bottom level of a 2 or 3 tier candy/dessert rack. Yeah! Oh the fun of being able to run with design/project changes!

Attempt at a small maple bowl with a walnut stripe.



Profile of small bowl. approx 1.5 cup capacity.



Got a little tooo close to the bottom when trying to clean up the inside corners. well… it's surely neither a bowl or colander now. I imagine I can sand the bottom smooth, glue up another layer and still make something out of this… A notch in the original glued up blank forced me to make this bowl a bit smaller than I would have liked anyhow.



Apple vessel:


And finally, I had this chunk of applewood. A baseball sized, somewhat triangularish piece, cut from the intersection of three branches. Not good for much, with some cracks in it, but surely home to some fascinating grain.





Approx 2 3/4 inches across, 2 1/2 tall. Hole bored out with a 1 3/8 forstner bit and cleaned up with a scraper - that is some tough, hard wood inside. Outside sanded to 220 and finished - wood and bark - with Howards Orange oil and beeswax.
 
#91 ·
Don't feel bad, chalk it up to experience and glue a board on the bottom and turn it again. This happened to me too only with walnut and I was thinning the inside with a new tool and it worked too well and I still haven't found a suitable board to glue onto this leftover. I can guarantee that this won't be the last time this happens.

Erwin, Jacksonville, FL
 
#95 ·
Off Center

I like asymmetry, and am particularly drawn to projects that do not appear to have been created on the lathe, and beg the question, "How did you turn that?"



These forms, are the result of experimenting with Therming. Turning one face of a piece at a time, around an axis that doesn't pass within the form. Thus creating a multi-sided, yet still turned piece. Bedposts are a classic example, with rounded sides, but a clear vertical edge line where the faces meet.



The two smaller pieces are duplicates, created at the same time, while sandwiched around a carrier board serving as the central axis. These three forms are all the result of one turning session at the lathe. The largest piece, the carrier board, is actually scrap (beautiful maple scrap), but shows how thick the boards all started out as.

These don't neccessarily serve any particular function and may continue to be experimented with. I was initially going for something fishy and ended up with this form. Something along the lines of an interstellar racer, perhaps. I quickly found the pieces losing mass as I went through the process of turning one face, detaching, flipping, remounting and turning the other side. Next time, I'l start with larger, if not longer boards. So much potential for interesting forms, bizarre chess pieces or the fanciest kindling you've ever seen.

 
#97 ·
Unofficial? three-peat.

So here I am on Day 8 of what may, or may not be a run of thirty projects in 30 days. 30 new projects from scratch all started, and completed within the span of a month. This time, not limiting myself to a standard "30 day month" (April, June, November…) but just starting when I happened to begin, and will ride it out for as long as I can.

More to the point, I'm getting a new batch of salable projects ready for the gallery, plus a little backlog for the following shipment. ALSO doing what I can to get the shop cleaned up a bit. and in very little time devoted to that, I've already moved out a carload of well seasoned firewood to my sisters house (and came home with a new (to me) scroll saw!.. I also have a significantly cleaner space than I ever had in the past six months. Is that really floor space?! It's also nice to get out in the shop in defiance of the weather. Last year I just pretended the shop didn't exist… it worked for a while, then I got really antsy. So far, a radiant quartz heater, new sock liners for my boots, and layers of sweatshirts and fleece are keeping me perfectly comfortable.

The "week" so far, yes its a bunch of the same (but when the gallery sells stoppers, and asks for more. Well…










(is the "instant gratification" of the lathe ruining me for other projects?... well, I suppose I'll take what I can get when the days are short and the temps are very LOW. Still not cold enough yet to get me to throw in the towel!
But I am running low on stopper hardware. Something else will be on looming on the horizon very shortly!
 
#100 ·
egads!

Oh foul temptress, how you always sneak up on me ill prepared, but (partially) willing to do it anyway. (again).

yes, I have stuff to make for Christmas. yes I have stuff to get off to a couple of shops for all the pre-Christmas selling. and, alas, I have a shop still quite in disrepair. wait, but that counts too!... well, it would be one way to invoke Murphy's Law and make the day job go well into overtime for the foreseeable future.
 
#101 ·
11/12 days 1-3

Table Wood Comfort Headgear Flooring


So, I'm a sucker for challenges. A few years back, the 'Couch to 5k' program got me running again after many years on the D.L. Last year I took on a "consecutive days of Geocaching adventure." (think high-tech scavenger hunt if you've never heard of it) I started out attempting 30, then 100 days in a row, which fulfilled a couple of challenges I was going for. Then it was onward to 189 so I would surpass my record of days without geocaching. Yes, when I started I was a fair-weather cacher. I continued on, one day at a time to 365, and beyond. Despite the weather - plenty of rain, a freak October Blizzard, and a hurricane - I got out, and bit by bit, inched forward to each next milestone. The challenge became a habit. Just another part of my daily routine. And this is the goal I have in mind with this challenge.

Having already successfully completed a couple '30 projects in 30 days', and knowing how much that challenge can take over my life (as in, all my free time, whether physical or mental) - not just finding the time to make art, but even moreso having to document it also. I'm approaching this one differently. Sure it's a great opportunity to get some things done. (Presents for friends and family. Items for the Etsy store or one of the two galleries selling my wares.) Its a great time to force myself to try some new things. A good opportunity to dust off some skills - sharpening anyone?

But more than that, its the opportunity to make projects, and art, part of my daily routine, without sacrificing all the other stuff I need, or want to do.

Thursday, November first, I headed out into the workshop after work, and with no plans or preconceived notions, I spied these old ornaments I'd made and decided the would make great lids for small boxes. I found a suitable piece of mahogany, and started turning a box to go with it. I debated between (and ended up refinishing) three different lids for this first box I made. I took a few photos, then sat down for a little Phineas and Ferb with my little one after dinner. The project post could wait. (and will be coming)

Table Dishware Wood Rectangle Headgear

Wood Gas Machine Cylinder Soil


I turned the next two boxes after running 5k. Before the run, I helped dad install a big new window in the dining room. I guess that counts as a project too, right?

Window Building Wood Road surface Brickwork

Window Rectangle Wood Fixture Shade


So, here is the crux of this months challenge… getting out into the shop, not just to make art. To build and to create. Finish all the have-to, and get the creative juices flowing with the want to. To get projects off the to-do list. To never again fall victim to the gravitational pull of the couch, and let all the "almost done" projects gather dust for yet another day, weekend, month. To get the workshop up and running, and evolving. Can I whip out 30 projects in 30 days? Piece of cake… can I make making a habit? I intend to.

Will I find inspiration on my next run in the woods? You betcha!
 

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#102 ·
days 4-7

Part of the problem, or challenge, of getting a project done every day (or doing anything in the shop ever) is the dance. The hop, skip and jump of winding your way around all the offcuts, jigs, scrap that too nice to trash, and trash that just doesn't get out the door.

So, in my quest to move forward to having actual floor space, and plenty of covered storage for tools and materials, I've stepped away from the lathe, took some plywood and got started on some BIG storage boxes. Boxes that will actually serve as doors for one of my lumber racks. Tons of storage, and set up to keep the dust off. - a far cry from my old shops where everything was stashed on open shelves behind and above the miter saw, under the lathe and in every nook and cranny I could reach (and some that I couldn't.)

Table Wood Flooring Wood stain Floor

Wood Building Flooring Hardwood Gas


Just under 7' tall. with access from the two inside faces. 2' deep shelves on the bottom, shallow area for clamps above, and 16" deep shelves on the inside face. Still need to add a couple more shelves once I work out the interior layout. (I'm kinda making this up on the fly)

Shelf Wood Shelving Floor Publication


One big box deserves another! Started on the storage portion of the second door. All to be accessed from the inside face, with space for longer clamps on the inside edge. (still to do). I'm going to further subdivide the upper shelves with removable dividers to help organize my smaller turning stock.

Wood Art Hardwood Natural material Varnish


Speaking of turning… it's back to the lathe. I needed a plug for a bolt hole in a newell post. yeah I could have picked one up at the big box store on the drive in to work tomorrow… or I could chuck a small piece of oak and turn one (in about the same amount of time it would have taken me to walk through the store)... and while I had the oak, I thought the rest of it wanted to be a nice little mallet. I could have used one like this this morning. The bottom two were turned from (I think) a piece of firewood, that I saved for it's nice grain. The top turning looks like oak. It came from an old pallet. (for a while I thought it was ash, and started to go for a baseball bat in miniature.) Might be a good muddler for an old fashioned (or any other drink with whisky or something that spent time in oak barrels.) Anyhow, it was fun to make a couple of tools for the shop or kitchen after spending some time breaking down so much plywood into shelving.
 

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#103 ·
days 8-10

Wood Shelf Flooring Shelving Floor


Between all the requisite taxi service during this, the last week of play rehearsals. The little one is an orphan in Oliver! I've had a little time to sneak out into the garage and make quite a lot of sawdust in a short period of time firing up the router and lathe.

I've added the upper shelves, with removable hardboard dividers to one of the big storage cabinets.

Wood Natural material Hardwood Plant Wood stain


I've also turned a couple more tool handles. Oak, and Mesquite. to join the Osage Orange set I'd made already.
The osage was from the log I milled a couple weeks ago, the oak from some old pallet. I managed to find a section without any hardware remaining - you can still see some of the nail holes. Speaking of holes, the mesquite piece, was long enough for a couple muddlers, but had lots of worm holes through it, and seemed less than perfect for a kitchen project. but a gorgeous addition for the shop!

After inquiring about whether or not those "new" replaceable carbide tipped chisels were a good investment, I'd discovered nothing short of enthusiasm from my fellow Lumberjocks, as well as resources for sharpening the disposable tips. (which are good for up to 80 hours of use - I can't get one project done without heading back to resharpen the old chisels I have once or twice) I also found lots of directions for making ones own chisels too, as well as other turners doubling as machinists for hire for about 1/2 price, and all I'd need to do is turn my own handle.. or for the cost of a tap and die, some tool steel I can have a nice 130-150 tool for under $20! sounds good to me.

This months tally of projects completed/in progress - 3/11
3 boxes, 4 tool handles (roughed), 2 large cabinets
1 large window installed, 1 mallet, 1 muddler

But, my goal this month is to complete at least 30, not make and post one every day. Projects on deck: boxes, muddlers, bottle stoppers (need hardware), pens (ditto), tool holders, puzzles, jigs and more! (like hanging more shop lighting while I'm out there, a little more winterizing to be done, floor space to reclaim… from junk, and now, sawdust!)
 

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#104 ·
a look back at the first 27 days

Okay, so I've been good about the projects challenge, just bad about the posting. 27 days in, 1 project left to do… maybe I'll wait until Friday night for some last minute, down to the wire drama!

Here's a quick look at much of what has been going on in, and outside of the shop. Quite the mix of big and small. I wish I was able to do more "want to" than "have to" but I'm also VERY happy to have cleared a lot of those projects off the pre-winter dance card.

I'm happy to say the shop is closer to where I want it… and I'm enjoying my time out there, the challenge is becoming a habit (and rather than a forced obligation like I feared it might.) Work will continue onto Christmas gifts and the like, and we just might have a "very homemade Christmas" after all! Just don't count on those projects to get posted either - at least not before Santa is home and relaxing in the hot-tub after his whirlwind world tour!

Wood Serveware Table Tableware Hat


Table Dishware Wood Rectangle Headgear


Window Rectangle Wood Fixture Shade


Wood Art Hardwood Natural material Varnish


Wood Natural material Hardwood Plant Wood stain


Wood Musical instrument Tool Metal Tobacco


Wood Flooring Hardwood Wood stain Varnish


Wood Window Gas Engineering Machine


Shelf Wood Shelving Building Floor


Wood Tableware Hardwood Wood stain Rectangle


Wood Varnish Hardwood Wood stain Natural material
 

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#105 ·
a look back at the first 27 days

Okay, so I've been good about the projects challenge, just bad about the posting. 27 days in, 1 project left to do… maybe I'll wait until Friday night for some last minute, down to the wire drama!

Here's a quick look at much of what has been going on in, and outside of the shop. Quite the mix of big and small. I wish I was able to do more "want to" than "have to" but I'm also VERY happy to have cleared a lot of those projects off the pre-winter dance card.

I'm happy to say the shop is closer to where I want it… and I'm enjoying my time out there, the challenge is becoming a habit (and rather than a forced obligation like I feared it might.) Work will continue onto Christmas gifts and the like, and we just might have a "very homemade Christmas" after all! Just don't count on those projects to get posted either - at least not before Santa is home and relaxing in the hot-tub after his whirlwind world tour!

Wood Serveware Table Tableware Hat


Table Dishware Wood Rectangle Headgear


Window Rectangle Wood Fixture Shade


Wood Art Hardwood Natural material Varnish


Wood Natural material Hardwood Plant Wood stain


Wood Musical instrument Tool Metal Tobacco


Wood Flooring Hardwood Wood stain Varnish


Wood Window Gas Engineering Machine


Shelf Wood Shelving Building Floor


Wood Tableware Hardwood Wood stain Rectangle


Wood Varnish Hardwood Wood stain Natural material
quit the diversified collection scott

congrats on your diligent work
and timeline

leaning the ladder up against the building
and arranging the drop cloth
is a very subtle and expressive statement

sure to draw a crowd

well done
 

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